


A Gem of an Accomplice

by Paradoxikalli



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, Oneshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2016-08-28
Packaged: 2018-08-11 14:41:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7896643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paradoxikalli/pseuds/Paradoxikalli
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emerald finds herself the reluctant accomplice of a vengeful Coco Adel, who is determined to keep Team CRDL from bullying Velvet by beating sense into them. When she goes to Team CFVY’s dorm on a whim, the thief ends up faced with the ability to help Coco and Velvet again, but as a matchmaker instead of bait.<br/>Honestly she doesn’t even understand why she agreed to lure Team CRDL out in the first place.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Gem of an Accomplice

**Author's Note:**

> I did write a companion oneshot to this one! It explains how a briefly mentioned event actually happened. It's short, so it won't take much time to read. It's not necessary to the plot of this oneshot, but I find it cute. ^.^  
> http://paradoxikalli.tumblr.com/post/149526886138/pickpocket

It was mid-afternoon as Emerald walked through the streets of Vale, admiring the city. She had to admit, it wasn’t bad. She liked checking out all the sights it had to offer.

“Hey. Emerald, right?” said a cold female voice from behind her, stopping her in her tracks. She got a sneer out of the way before turning with a false smile.

“Can I help you?” she asked politely.

“None of that preppy bullshit,” ordered the girl. Emerald was slightly taken aback. Was her cover blown?

“What do you want from me?” she asked warily, trying to figure out where she’d seen this girl before. She looked very familiar…but who was she?

“For one, I want you to buy me a new pair of sunglasses,” the girl declared. Emerald realized this was Coco Adel, the confident fashionista she’d fought in the tournament.

“You’re implying there’s something else,” she noticed. Coco smirked slightly.

“There is. Are you doing anything?”

“Actually no, I was just…exploring the city,” Emerald admitted, a bit confused.

“Good. I’m taking you shopping.”

“Umm…”

“I have a proposition for you,” Coco told her. “I don’t particularly like you, but I can deal.”

“And we’re shopping because…?”

“I like shopping,” Coco explained simply. “C’mon, there are some good stores over here. I’ll explain on the way.”

Emerald followed the girl down the sidewalk, staying close beside her for convenience. She wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but she was curious enough to stay and find out.

“The first thing you need to know is that what I want your help with is something rather violent,” Coco began. “The second thing is that it has to do with anti-faunus racism.”

“What do you mean?” Emerald asked.

“I have a teammate,” Coco began. “She’s a very dear friend. Her name’s Velvet Scarlatina. You’ve probably seen her around. She’s the cute brunette with bunny ears, and she usually has her camera with her so she can—y’know, I actually don’t trust you enough to tell you about that. Anyhow, as you’d probably expect, there are tons of bullies at Beacon who torment her for being a faunus. I’ve beaten sense into most of them, but there’s this one first-year team that’s smart enough to disappear when I’m around.”

“And you want my help?” Emerald asked.

“I’m not asking you to fight them for me,” Coco said. “I want to kick their asses myself. I just need you to draw them out and get their guard down so they don’t see me coming and run away like the cowards they are.”

“How would I do that?” Emerald asked.

“They’re boys, and they _think_ they’re womanizers,” Coco explained scornfully. “If a girl as hot as you asks them to go somewhere, they’ll go.”

That was something new. Compliments usually came to Emerald with ceremony to ensure they were noticed. Coco had just complimented her casually, not making even a small scene.

“What?” Coco asked, looking at her.

“Nothing.”

Coco raised a skeptical eyebrow but said nothing, leading her into a small store. The thief followed her over to a sunglasses rack, still confused about all this.

“So why are you asking _me_ for help?” Emerald asked. “We’ve never talked other than in the arena, and that didn’t even count as a conversation. Don’t you have any friends?”

“Of course,” Coco said with a smirk that quickly faded. “But, uh…I can’t go to them for this. They’d just give me a lecture about how I shouldn’t use violence as an answer and all that.”

“Still. Why me?”

“For one,” Coco held out a pair of sunglasses, “you owe me these since you broke the ones I had. Kill two birds with one stone and all…and preferably four more birds known as Team CRDL. Besides, you were an obvious candidate anyhow.”

“Why?” Emerald pressed.

“Let’s see…amazing body, revealing clothes, spunky attitude, confidence to rival mine…just to name a few reasons.”

There it was again. That way of offering blunt, direct compliments without emphasis. It was different. To be honest, it was very satisfying as well.

“C’mon, you’re buying me these now. Then we’ll start shopping and discuss strategy,” Coco said.

“You’re assuming I’ll help you.”

“Aren’t you going to?”

Emerald sighed and took the sunglasses. One corner of Coco’s mouth twitched up in a smirk.

“I thought so. You don’t seem like the type to back down from a challenge.”

Emerald didn’t respond. She just went to the counter and paid for the (frighteningly expensive) sunglasses. Coco took off the tag and slid the lenses over her eyes. It was amazing how the shades made her seem so much more intimidating.

“So what style do you like?” Coco asked, leading her out of the store.

“Style?” Emerald frowned, confused. “What do you mean?”

Coco appeared too deeply embedded in thought to explain.

“Hmm…I doubt you’d like the shops on the east side…you don’t look like you’d be interested in pastels and skirts and such. They’ve got a little district by the docks…no, that’s more sportswear and weather preparation. Downtown? Mmm…no, you don’t seem like the elaborate designer type. The Vale City Mall is more geared toward kids and preps overall. The southern stores are way too tacky for anyone with any sense of self-respect whatsoever…and the western part of town is formal and professional wear only, so that’s out…”

The fashionista fell silent and Emerald tried to figure out how to ask what the hell she was talking about.

“Aha!”

Coco’s sudden explanation made the pickpocket jump slightly.

“Around the northern park they’ve got a more urban style. Punk-rock, casual, and sleek. Great quality too. The designers’ lines there are excellent. Yeah, that’s where I’m taking you.”

Emerald decided it wasn’t worth it to ask questions and just sighed.

_This is ridiculous. Why am I putting up with her? Well, I guess I am a little curious about what she wants me for…_

“You’re gonna _love_ these stores. Trust me, I’m an expert,” Coco declared. “And don’t hold back; I’m buying.”

_Huh. If she’s offering to buy me things, maybe this won’t be too bad._

* * *

Four hours later, Emerald had several bags full of clothes that she admittedly loved, and Coco had spent several thousand lien via various credit cards. Their plan was ironed out as well—meaning, of course, that Coco had described exactly what was to happen while bribing her reluctant accomplice with more clothes.

“I’m gonna go grab some coffee down the street. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Coco said with a smirk. As the fashionista walked off, Emerald turned to go the other way and noticed something was in her hand: a black leather wallet with an elegant golden A tucked into the curve of a C of the same hue, both letters inside a gold heart. She realized she’d taken the wallet from Coco’s pocket without even knowing. She probably should have called the fashionista back right then, but she found her curiosity getting the better of her and opened the wallet.

There were several credit cards and a fair sum of lien. Typical of someone with a lot of money. Emerald wondered what else she’d expected to find inside a wallet and almost closed it, but something caught her eye.

There was a zipper in the wallet. It looked like it actually opened, so Emerald sat on a nearby bench, set down her bags, and tugged at the zipper. A folded slip of paper was inside the compartment and the thief pulled it out, unfolding it to find words written across it by hand.

_Velvet, there’s something I need to get off my chest. If you’re reading this, I’m sorry I couldn’t get the courage to tell you to your face. I’ll get to the point. The truth is, I fell for you. Pretty damn hard, honestly. I’m too nervous to say it to you so writing it down works better for me, but I’ll probably never give this to you regardless. It’ll just stay folded up in my wallet, and you’ll never know. Maybe it’s for the best that you never find out how I feel. You’d never feel this way for me, and even if you did, I’m not the easiest person to date. I love you anyhow. -Coco_

A small folded picture slipped out of the unzipped compartment and fell onto Emerald’s lap. She held it up and unfolded it, examining it closely.

It was a photograph of a faunus girl with brown bunny ears. She had a bright smile on her face and her cheeks were slightly flushed. The girl was clearly happy, her delicate features seemingly illuminated by radiant internal light even in the picture.

In a matter of seconds, Emerald placed the girl from several different occasions. Obviously it was Velvet, the girl Coco had talked about and the subject of that little note. But Emerald also remembered seeing the faunus now.

She’d seen Velvet around at Beacon plenty of times. Emerald could now infer that her three most common companions were her three teammates. One was Coco, one was the boy who’d fought Mercury during the tournament, and the last one was a boy with blank white eyes.

_Is that why Coco’s really doing this? Because she loves this girl? I mean, Velvet’s a second-year student in an academy designed to train Huntsmen and Huntresses. I’m sure she can handle a few bullies. Why would Coco want to do this for her? To get attention? Self-satisfaction? To win her over? Either way, it can’t be because Velvet’s her friend and teammate. That’s just ridiculous._

Emerald tucked everything back in the wallet’s pocket and zipped it shut, then grabbed her bags of clothes and stood, walking down the street and around the corner Coco had turned down. She nearly crashed right into her.

“You dropped this,” Emerald said, holding out the wallet. Coco raised an eyebrow and took it.

“Did I?” she asked. “I didn’t hear it hit the ground.”

“I mean, it is a little loud here,” Emerald pointed out.

“Emerald,” Coco said firmly. “I know you took it. I knew as soon as you took it out of my pocket. I just figured I’d be patient and see if you did it out of habit or intent.”

Emerald was stunned. No one had ever caught her before. Was she getting sloppy?

“It was nice form, by the way,” Coco added, opening her wallet to flick through it. “But I’m no stranger to pickpockets. Considering that half of my team makes it a game to see what they can take without people noticing…”

“What do you mean?” Emerald asked.

“Fox and Velvet. Both excellent pickpockets. They have fairly frequent competitions about who’s better. ‘Game day’ for them means taking things off of people without getting caught. Some objects count for more. So do objects from certain people. They try taking things from me a lot—either an accessory I’m wearing or something in my pockets, although Velvet did manage to snag my belt once—so I’ve gotten pretty good at realizing it.”

She finished counting her money and credit cards, then closed her wallet, clearly satisfied that Emerald hadn’t taken anything (which she hadn’t) as she put it back in her pocket.

“You should ask to play with them sometime,” Coco suggested. “I think a little extra competition would be interesting. But I will warn you: they’ve each taken at least one thing from every professor at Beacon, including Ozpin. And just to brag on them a little more, they frequently swipe stuff from General Ironwood now that he’s hanging around. Your ego may take a hit if you join their game.”

“Do they keep all of it?” Emerald asked.

“Nah. Once they record their scores, they take it all to the Lost and Found at night when the only person nearby is the one sitting in the office. They knock on the door and run, leaving all the things they stole outside it. They’re not thieves anymore since they don’t have to steal to get by like they used to. But that means you can’t keep anything you take during the game if you play with them. You can do whatever on your own time, but if you want to do competitive pickpocketing against those two, the things you take in the game must be returned.”

“You’re really encouraging me to do this,” Emerald noticed. “I thought you didn’t like me.”

“That was before we went shopping,” Coco said with a shrug. “I often like someone after I shop with them. Anyhow, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

With that, Coco smirked and walked off. Emerald looked down at the bags of clothes the fashionista had bought her and decided to go back to Beacon so she could put the new additions to her wardrobe away.

_Well…at least I got_ something _out of agreeing to help her._

* * *

At just past six in the evening the next day, Emerald knocked on the door to Team CRDL’s dorm and waited. One of the members opened it and she managed a flirtatious smile. He looked her up and down, then smirked confidently at her.

_Disgusting,_ Emerald noticed. He was eyeing her like she was a dessert at a buffet.

“Hey hottie,” the boys said. “What can we do for you?”

“I heard your team knows how to have a good time,” she said. “My teammates are gonna be out for a few hours…I’ve been looking for some company,” she lied smoothly. He clearly didn’t suspect a thing.

“You wanna come in for the time of your life?” he asked with a grin.

“Oh, that’s so nice of you, but…I have a few things set up at my dorm. Although if you don’t think you and your teammates could handle it, I could find someone else…”

The boy still seemed determined to make her come in. Coco’s words came back to her:

_“If they’re reluctant, just drop this little comment. It’ll work like a charm.”_

“I guess I could always go to Team JNPR’s dorm…I heard their leader Jaune’s pretty good. Maybe that’s a better idea than—”

“Oh we’re better than that weakling,” the boy said. He turned back to look into his dorm. “Hey guys, did you hear that?”

“You bet we did,” another boy said. Soon all four boys were outside their dorm. Emerald smiled and led them to the arranged hall: it turned a corner and opened into a small room. Team CRDL seemed too fixated on watching her walk to notice she was leading them do a dead end.

Heels clicked down the hall behind them. Emerald couldn’t fight a smirk. She had to admit, she thought she’d rather enjoy these cocky bastards get their comeuppance after seeing the way they’d looked at her…

“Hey,” Coco’s voice said behind them, sharp and cold. Emerald turned, as did Team CRDL, to see the fashionista standing in the middle of the hall to block her victims from escaping, one hand on her hip and handbag readily over her shoulder.

Team CRDL tried to retreat past Emerald so she let them—she let them run around the corner to the dead end.

“I’ve been trying to get my hands on you boys for a long time…” Coco began, coming around the corner to fix the trapped Team CRDL in the emotionless lenses of her sunglasses. “And once we’re done here, you will never even _look_ at Velvet again.”

Team CRDL stared at Emerald pleadingly as she joined Coco, but the pickpocket just smirked again. Coco patted her shoulder.

“Thanks kid,” she said. “Mind making sure these cowards don’t tuck their tails between their legs and run before I can teach them a lesson? I’ll buy you coffee tomorrow.”

Emerald adjusted herself into a ready stance in the middle of the opening to the room and drew her weapons, just to make it blatantly clear that there would be no fleeing from the fashionista’s determined rage.

And it was _definitely_ rage.

Emerald couldn’t help but be impressed by the fight. Coco, it seemed, became a much better fighter when she had more motivation than just winning a tournament. Her handbag didn’t open, but it didn’t take a genius to understand that she was barely restraining the urge to transform it into a gun and open fire.

Before long, Russel and Lark were crumpled on the floor. Coco was focused entirely on Cardin but Dove was coming up behind her with his sword raised and a grin on his face. She didn’t notice him and Emerald knew she’d take plenty of damage if he hit her…

Without even thinking, the thief created an imaginary swordsman behind Dove, accompanied by an equally imaginary shout of aggression. Dove cried out and stumbled as he whirled around. Coco, realizing he was there, turned and planted her foot on his back, a strong kick sending him flying to hit the floor facedown a couple yards away. He didn’t get up.

She turned back to Cardin and he swung his mace at her legs. She easily rolled to her feet, but light rippled across her body, showing that the boy’s hit had fully depleted her aura. His mace slammed into her left side and hip but she seemed unfazed, swinging her handbag at his head. Cardin hit the floor hard and didn’t rise. Coco spat on him, then tried to spin on her heel and walk away but winced and stumbled.

“Are you okay?” Emerald found herself strangely concerned at the fact that the fashionista was clearly hurt.

_Why am I worried about her?_

“Yeah…just that lucky shot from his mace after my aura ran out. I’ll be fine,” Coco replied, waving her off.

“Coco…why did you do this?” Emerald asked the question burning in her mind, putting her weapons away.

“Huh?”

“This Velvet girl. I’m sure she can take care of herself. Why would you go through so much effort to get in a fight with these guys, knowing you’d probably get hurt?”

“Oh, she can definitely take care of herself,” Coco agreed. “But she doesn’t have to. Yes, I knew these four idiots would manage to hurt me in a fight. But that doesn’t matter. Velvet’s my teammate and my friend. I care about her. I do this regardless of the chance I’ll get hurt because it’s for her. That’s what being on a team is. It isn’t people having your back in a fight. It’s friends who have your back no matter what, whether you ask for their help or not. You have a team too; I’m sure you understand.”

But Emerald didn’t understand. She had absolutely no idea what Coco was talking about. Her “team” was nothing like what the fashionista was describing.

Cinder was her leader. That wasn’t up for debate. Cinder looked out for her in battle and kept her safe. Emerald knew she’d lay down her life for Cinder in a heartbeat. She also knew Cinder would never do the same for her; she was far too instrumental to the plan. Mercury was just an asshole. He was a jerk, through and through. The only reason Emerald could put up with him as much as she did was because he wasn’t as big of an idiot as Roman. Neo was quiet and very sadistic, and honestly she was intimidating despite her size.

Emerald couldn’t call any of them the kind of friends Coco meant. If someone started harassing her…she could predict that Cinder would ignore it, Mercury would tell her to suck it up (or maybe join in with the people bothering her), Roman would laugh, and Neo…okay, she didn’t know about Neo. But she was absolutely positive that none of them would do for her what Coco was doing for Velvet.

“C’mon, I’m heading back to my dorm. Wanna tag along?” Coco asked. Emerald shook off her thoughts.

“Sure,” she agreed on a whim, following Coco through the halls to a door, which the fashionista unlocked and opened.

“Come in,” Coco said. “Have a seat.”

“Thanks,” Emerald said with a slight smile. Coco limped into the empty dorm and Emerald followed, closing the door behind her and looking around uncertainly.

“The bed with the elaborate blanket and lots of pillows is mine. Go make yourself at home,” Coco said, setting her handbag on a desk.

Emerald walked over and sat on the bed, feeling a little awkward as she watched Coco start making some sort of hot drink on a small, stove-like device that Emerald suspected wasn’t actually allowed in Beacon dorms. She heard a buzz and checked her scroll to find Mercury had sent her a message about the “eyeliner-addicted prick’s ice cream witch” messing with him. Emerald rolled her eyes and ignored his whining text.

“Boyfriend?” Coco guessed.

“H-huh?” Emerald snapped her head up, eyes wide.

“Is it your boyfriend? Who messaged you?”

“No. He wishes. I’m not with anyone.”

“Ah.”

“Are…you with anyone?” Emerald asked.

“Me? Nope. Not interested in that. Why? Are you offering?”

“I’m _not_ offering,” Emerald said firmly. “But there’s no one in Beacon you’d go out with?” she added disbelievingly. “Really?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Coco raised an eyebrow at her.

“You just don’t seem like you’d really be against having someone in your life,” Emerald explained.

“Well, there is this…one girl I’m waiting for. Only her,” Coco admitted after a few seconds.

“Who?” Emerald feigned ignorance. She was curious about what Coco would say and wondered if the fashionista would admit to her actions against Team CRDL being influenced by much more than protecting a friend and teammate.

Coco tapped her fingers against the wall as she leaned on it. She appeared genuinely indecisive.

“Okay. Fine. I’ll tell you. You helped me, so I guess I owe you some sort of reward. This’ll be it,” she decided. “Truth is, I…I, uh…I have a thing for Velvet.”

“Then…is that why you went after those guys?” Emerald pressed curiously.

“No. I’d do it for any of my teammates in a heartbeat, just like they’d do it for me. Maybe you’re a first-year and haven’t figured this out yet, so I’ll tell you the truth about teams.”

“The truth about teams?” Emerald frowned.

“Mmhm. A team isn’t some tactical unit that works together because of a drive for some common purpose. You don’t just stop at the battlefield. You don’t stop anywhere,” Coco explained. “Your team is your…not your family in the actual relations sense, but your family as in the people you’re closest to. Whether you have any family by blood left or not, your teammates become the ones you care about most, no matter who they’re compared to.”

Emerald nodded like she actually had some idea of what that kind of connection was to avoid Coco digging deeper and possibly guessing that she wasn’t on an actual team at all.

“Back to my interest in Velvet though…I don’t see why you wasted your reward on a piece of information you’d already found out,” Coco told her.

“What do you mean?”

“I checked the zipper compartment in my wallet once we split up, just to see. Things were…arranged a little differently. You already went digging and found out how I feel about her. Why did you push me to admit it?”

“I just…wanted to see if you went after those guys because of your romantic feelings or if you really did it to protect your team.”

“Is that what it’s like at Haven? Your team comes after your love life instead of the other way around?” Coco asked. “Your team should _always_ come first. You can be the leader or the weak link, and it still won’t matter. Your first priority is your team. You’d do anything for any of your teammates, just like any of them would for you. At Beacon, the real teams—like mine, for example—help of all their members become the best they can be. You could be the worst fighter in the school and your team would still protect you, but more than that, they’d help you. We make each other better every day. And it all pays off in the end.”

“How?”

“Maybe you should figure that out for yourself, and about your own team. I’m not about to tell anyone my team’s secrets. Part of the ‘trust and family’ principle Team CFVY follows.”

_That…actually doesn’t sound bad. Actual friends who really care about you and watch out for you whether you want them to or not. It sounds better than what I—_

_No! No, that’s ridiculous. Cinder looks out for me. She’s saved me several times. She took me in when I didn’t have anywhere else to go. She knows what she’s doing. She cares about me. I_ know _she cares about me!_

The door opened, and Emerald looked up to see a rabbit faunus standing there.

“Hey Velvet,” Coco said casually. “This is Emerald. Emerald, this is Velvet.”

“The one who hurt you,” Velvet remembered, walking in and closing the door.

“In the tournament, not for real,” Coco reminded her. Velvet looked like she wanted to argue, but as soon as Coco tried to take a step, the faunus seemed to abandon that urge.

“Coco, you’re hurt!” she exclaimed, hurrying to her slightly wincing leader with concern filling her eyes.

“Huh? Me? No, I’m fine.”

“No. You’re hurt,” Velvet insisted. She looked at Emerald, eyes narrowed. “Was it her?”

“Nah. Cardin Winchester landed a lucky shot,” Coco admitted with a casual shrug. Velvet turned back to her.

“Coco…did you…?”

“Kick his ass? Yup. The rest of his team too. Emerald helped me get to them.”

“And he hurt you.”

“No big deal.”

“Mmhm, sure. Lemme see,” Velvet said. There was a little stalling and protesting from Coco, but Velvet gave her a look that seemed to break down her willpower.

“Okay, fine,” Coco gave in. She unfasted her corset, spent a good minute or two removing her accessories (including her sunglasses), and tugged her sweater over her head, folding it carefully and setting it aside.

There was a large bruise occupying Coco’s left side and hip. She was still attractive overall, but the ugly mark made an impact. Velvet seemed pained at the sight.

“Coco, you…you can’t keep doing this.”

“Can’t I?”

“I’m not letting you get hurt for me.”

“And I’m not letting you get hurt period,” Coco insisted. “I can’t handle knowing they treat you like that. You’d do it for me, wouldn’t you?”

“Of course I would! That’s not even a question. So I really do appreciate what you’re doing, but—”

“Nope. No buts. Except yours. Yours is nice.”

Velvet groaned, her face turning bright red.

“Coco, this isn’t the time for that.”

“Isn’t it?” Coco teased. Velvet rolled her eyes.

“Whatever. It’s not like you mean anything by it,” the faunus said with a shrug and slight smile.

“Mmhm.” Coco took her drink (which was apparently done) and went toward a small fridge.

“Nope.” Velvet stepped in her way. “Go sit down.”

“Huh? But I can’t drink coffee black!”

“I know how you like it. I’ll finish making it. You go sit down and get some rest,” Velvet insisted, taking the mug. Coco sighed and limped over to her bed, where she sat beside Emerald for a few seconds, then flopped down on her back and stared at the ceiling.

“You’re not good with people,” Coco noticed, her eyes shifting to Emerald. “You talk and act just fine. But I can tell you’re not connecting.”

“Is that an insult?”

“It’s an observation,” Coco told her. There was a pause before the fashionista took a deep breath and sighed heavily. “Velvet needs to finish making my coffee already…I need an energy boost.”

“Maybe you should…put on a shirt now?” Emerald suggested. Coco smirked at her.

“Am I that distracting?” she asked teasingly.

Emerald didn’t respond. Honestly she didn’t know how someone _wouldn’t_ find a shirtless Coco Adel distracting. While she had no interest in the girl herself, Emerald couldn’t deny that Coco was highly attractive.

“Here’s your coffee. Stop whining.” Velvet walked over and held out the mug. Coco sat up and took the drink.

“Thanks, Vel. Quick question: Emerald apparently finds me very distracting without a shirt—”

“Does she?” Velvet interrupted, raising an eyebrow at Emerald with a strange spark in her eyes that was just concealed enough for its meaning to be uninterpretable. It definitely wasn’t friendly though.

“I never said that,” the thief retorted.

“Hmmm…yet you’re still not denying it,” Coco noticed. “But anyhow, Velvet…do you find me distracting? Should I put on a shirt because you’re unable to focus?”

Velvet rolled her eyes, blushing faintly.

“Coco, you have no shame about your body. You walk around the dorm in various less than decent states of dress all the time.”

“So…you don’t want me to put on a shirt?” Coco guessed.

“I don’t care if you put on a shirt,” Velvet corrected her. “I’m immune to seeing you like this. I’m immune to seeing you down to the bare essentials.”

“What if I strip down completely tonight?” Coco asked with a suggestive smirk.

“I’d throw your pajamas at you and face the other way.”

“You’re no fun…”

“Uh-huh. Just drink your coffee before it gets cold.”

Coco heaved an exaggerated sigh and raised the mug to her lips, draining it completely in only a few seconds.

“Hey Emerald, could you hold this?” Coco asked. Well it wasn’t so much a request as a warning, because Emerald found the mug flying at her face. She caught it as Coco grabbed Velvet’s waist and pulled the faunus down to the bed. Emerald jumped up so she wouldn’t be caught in…whatever the hell was going on.

“C-Coco!” Velvet protested, squirming and blushing violently as her leader held her closely against her own body. “Let me go!”

“Am I so unattractive that you won’t be anywhere near me?” Coco asked, her tone offended and hurt. Velvet huffed and relaxed.

“You’re a drama queen,” she accused.

“Yup. And you’re staying.”

“Fine. Emerald, could you do me a favor and go get the book from that nightstand over there?” Velvet requested.

“Sure,” Emerald agreed. She set the mug aside and went to the indicated furniture, frowning slightly when she noticed a sketchbook lying abandoned on the floor. She didn’t particularly enjoy things being clearly out of place so she picked it up, accidentally catching a glimpse of the page it fell open to.

“No, don’t look at that!” Velvet shouted.

Emerald looked at the drawing and the words below it. Then she shifted her eyes to the furiously blushing faunus before turning to Coco, who looked completely confused.

“What is it?” Coco asked.

“N-nothing!” Velvet yelped. Emerald looked at the page again.

_She’s pretty a talented artist,_ she noticed, her eyes flitting over both the sketch of Coco lying on her back with a magazine in her hands and the words below it. _The poem’s not bad either…way too sappy for my taste, but I can still appreciate it._

“Y-you can…please put that back now,” Velvet said, her voice carrying a tensely nervous and aggressive undertone.

Emerald closed the sketchbook and set it down, then picked up the book Velvet had asked for. Her eyes drifted to the sketchbook again and she found herself strangely conflicted about what to do regarding the situation.

On one hand, keeping the sketchbook over here and away from Coco would keep Emerald from being caught in an awkward situation between the two CFVY teammates. It would keep the peaceful status quo. No emotions would go flying.

On the other hand, giving it to Coco would probably result in Velvet getting upset. Emerald had never met the faunus so she wasn’t sure what kind of reaction she’d give. She could run out, break down, or even get aggressive. The thief felt it was safe to assume that Velvet was a very skilled fighter, so aggression would be bad. Still, if Coco saw the sketchbook, the overall outcome would probably turn out to be positive for them both.

But Emerald had no idea why she was thinking about this. What did she care about these two? Why should she bother trying to help them out with their mutual problem? Why was she so tempted to put herself in that awkward situation of wild emotions for the benefit of these two girls? And for that matter, why had she used her semblance to help Coco fight Team CRDL? She was confused and conflicted about the whole ordeal.

She did have a suspicion though. She wasn’t particularly fond of it, but somehow she felt she didn’t hate Coco and Velvet. They weren’t like the annoyingly bubbly Team RWBY, who always seemed full of sunshine and cheer. Coco and Velvet were different, and Emerald shuddered to realize their casual behavior, strong loyalty, blunt honesty, appropriate levels of emotion, and attitudes of confidence and concern (respectively) were growing on her, and she was becoming genuinely fond of them. It was slightly horrifying to think about this, but Emerald was more sure of it with each passing second.

With that in mind, she dropped the book Velvet had requested on the bed, then picked up the sketchbook and tossed it at Coco, who caught it easily, grinning.

Velvet instantly tensed, but Coco had caught a glimpse of a page and quickly pinned her faunus teammate to the bed, keeping the smaller girl down by sitting on her back as she continued to flip through the sketchbook. Velvet was struggling but Coco ignored her, eyes wide as she stared at the pages in front of her, slowly turning them, taking in everything.

Emerald cautiously kept her distance. She wasn’t sure if Velvet would try to attack her if she came close, nor was she sure that Coco would be able to keep her faunus teammate restrained if she saw red and tried to go for blood. It seemed that her inclination was more toward flight than fight, judging by how her panicked eyes were fixed on the door, but Emerald still wanted to be safe. She wasn’t in the mood for fighting right now.

When Coco finished with the last page, she closed the sketchbook and set it down.

“Alright Vel. I’m gonna get off of you now, but you have to promise to stay and talk this out with me. No running away. Alright?” Coco asked calmly.

“F-fine…” Velvet gave in, her voice quiet and afraid. Coco stood and Velvet instantly jumped up, bolting for the door.

“Nope!” Coco grabbed her waist from behind and held her still. Velvet squirmed but couldn’t escape. Her leader looked at Emerald. “My wallet’s still in my pocket…mind grabbing it and showing Velvs the little note inside?”

Emerald sighed, resigned to being trapped as the matchmaker for this pair now, and walked over to Coco, pulling out the fashionista’s wallet and unzipping the little pocket inside it to remove the slip of paper before putting the wallet back in its owner’s pocket. Emerald unfolded the note and held it out to Velvet, who stopped struggling, hesitantly took it, and started to read.

The faunus’s mouth opened slightly in shock and her cheeks turned red. Coco let go of her waist and her teammate whirled around to face her.

“Coco…you…?”

“Yeah. I uh…yeah,” Coco said.

“And… _you_ , Coco Adel, were nervous about something?” Velvet teased. “You admit you were _afraid_ for once?”

Coco crossed her arms, blushing.

“Oh shut up. I thought things would be weird if I told you!”

“Uh-huh, sure you did. Just admit it! You were scared of rejection.”

Coco huffed, refusing to answer. Velvet gave a slight giggle, then looked at Emerald.

“How did you know she had this?” the faunus asked, holding up the note.

“I’m a pickpocket. I took her wallet by habit, and I was curious about what was in it,” Emerald explained.

“A pickpocket, huh?” Velvet raised an eyebrow.

“I told her about your competitions with Fox,” Coco said. Velvet smiled slightly, meeting Emerald’s eyes with an inviting lightness.

“Why don’t you join in? Come here at nine o’clock Sunday morning and Fox and I will let you in to explain the rules,” she offered. Emerald considered for a few seconds.

_It does sound a little fun…and maybe I can find some sort of information to help Cinder with the plan if I target professors._

“I’ll be here,” she agreed.

“Good! Now I, um…I kinda want to be alone with Coco now, so…”

“I’ll see you on Sunday,” Emerald said, walking to the door. She heard Coco say something to Velvet but only caught the word “shirt” and a suggestive tone.

“Pervert,” Velvet scolded, but her tone was embarrassed and amused, not upset. Emerald left the dorm, shutting the door behind her.

As she walked away, she couldn’t help but think about how fragile everything was. If the plan was a success (which it surely would be), all of this would vanish. The school, the city, the hearts of the people…all broken.

But she shook off the sudden doubts and guilty thoughts. Cinder could be trusted. She’d been taking care of Emerald since they met, and she had never let her down. There was nothing to doubt or feel guilty over because Cinder knew what she was doing. These feelings were silly and baseless.

…Right?

**Author's Note:**

> I've never written Emerald before, so it was definitely interesting to write from her perspective! I've worked on this on and off for several months because I've been trying to work out how to portray her in a way that I believe to be adequate while making sure to just give her nagging questions instead of full-fledged doubts. Just a little trivia about this fic.


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